1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information terminal devices, and more particularly to small-sized information terminals such as mobile terminals, typically, mobile telephones, or portable information terminals which have a function of obtaining documents or images from servers through the Internet.
2. Description of the Background Art
The recent remarkable advances in information technology are now allowing users to instantaneously obtain various information through the Internet just by entering addresses into personal computers to access to desired locations. The information obtained includes hypertexts in HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language) and mails described in MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions), for example. A user can request acquisition of information from a server or display the information obtained from the server on the screen by using a hypertext display device in which an application called a browser is installed or a mail display device in which an application called a mailer is installed.
Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer are examples of widespread browsers. Such browsers can obtain image information (images) from a server through the Internet, and such images can be utilized as the background (background image) or a screen saver.
The recent developments of downsized equipment are presenting small-sized information terminals such as mobile telephones, portable information terminals, etc. in which a browser or a mailer is installed. Now the users are demanding that such small-sized information terminal devices should be equipped for the function of obtaining an image from a server and setting it as the background image etc., as is possible in personal computers.
When a user uses an image obtained from a server as a background image in a personal computer, it is possible to accumulatively store a plurality of images and select and use one of the images as the background image. Accordingly, users will also demand that such small-sized information terminal devices, too, be equipped with the function of selecting an image, as in the personal computers, in the operation of utilizing an image obtained from a server as the background image.
In contrast with personal computers, such small-sized information terminal devices have smaller display screens, and different models of small-sized information terminal devices have display screens of different sizes. Therefore utilizing an image obtained from a server as a background image requires resizing to adjust the image to the display screen.
However, existing browsers are designed to be used in personal computers whose screen size is fixed, so they do not have the function of changing the size of an image before setting it as the background image.
Accordingly, conventional small-sized portable information terminals cannot use an image obtained from a sever as a background image.
It is possible to change the size of an image obtained from a server by using an image processing tool etc. and set it as the background image. However, this method is possible only for information terminal devices which have relatively large storage capacity and have a pointing device etc. for easy entering operation. Particularly, the method using an image processing tool is not practical for mobile telephones, since their storage capacity is severely limited and the entering operation would require extremely complicated operation using ten-keys and buttons.
Information terminal devices having no pointing device, particularly mobile telephones, cannot allow the users to easily select a desired image from among a plurality of images obtained from servers.
The following method is suggested to select a desired image from a plurality of images in an information terminal device having no pointing device, for example. That is to say, a user operates keys to specify one name among names of a plurality of images displayed on the screen to select the image corresponding to that name. This method requires the processing of generating names of the images, but this processing is not easy for the information terminal devices since any image is just a group of pixel data for the devices.
Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to provide an information terminal device which can obtain an image from a server and change the size of the image so that it can be used as the background image.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an information terminal device which can obtain and store images from a server and select and display an image that a user desires among the plurality of images stored.
The present invention has the following features to solve the problems explained above.
A first aspect of the invention is directed to an information terminal device which obtains an image from a server and displays the image in a display area of a screen, the information terminal device comprising:
an obtaining unit operable to obtain the image from the server;
an over-size decision unit operable to decide whether the entirety of the image obtained by the obtaining unit can be displayed within the display area of the screen; and
a resizing unit operable to, when the over-size decision unit makes a negative decision, change the size of the image obtained by the obtaining unit so that the image can be displayed within the display area of the screen.
In accordance with the first aspect above, it is possible to obtain an image from a server and change the size of the image to use it as the background image.
According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the over-size decision unit detects the size of the image obtained by the obtaining unit and compares the size of the image with the size of the display area of the screen to decide whether the entirety of the image can be displayed within the display area of the screen.
In accordance with the second aspect above, it is possible to decide whether the image extends past the display area of the screen.
According to a third aspect, in the first aspect, the display area of the screen is variable in size, and
the over-size decision unit detects the size of the image obtained by the obtaining unit and the size of the display area of the screen and compares the two sizes with each other to decide whether the entirety of the image can be displayed within the display area of the screen.
In accordance with the third aspect above, it is possible to decide whether the image exceeds the size limit of the display area of the screen even when the display area of the screen is variable in size.
According to a fourth aspect, in the third aspect,
the over-size decision unit notifies the resizing unit of the detected two sizes, and
the resizing unit calculates an enlarging/shrinking ratio on the basis of the two sizes notified by the over-size decision unit and changes the size of the image obtained by the obtaining unit by enlarging/shrinking the image at the enlarging/shrinking ratio.
In accordance with the fourth aspect above, an enlarging/shrinking ratio is obtained from the size of the image and the size of the display area of the screen and the size of the image is changed by enlarging/shrinking the image at that ratio. Preferably, the enlarging/shrinking ratio is such a value that the size of the resized image coincides with the size of the display area of the screen, which is obtained by dividing the size of the display area of the screen by the size of the image.
According to a fifth aspect, in the first aspect,
the display area of the screen is variable in size, and
the over-size decision unit detects the lateral size and the longitudinal size of the image obtained by the obtaining unit and the lateral size and the longitudinal size of the display area of the screen and compares the two lateral sizes with each other and the two longitudinal sizes with each other to decide whether the entirety of the image can be displayed within the display area of the screen individually in the lateral direction and in the longitudinal direction.
In accordance with the fifth aspect above, it is possible to decide whether the image extends past the display area of the screen in the lateral direction and the longitudinal direction even if the display area of the screen is variable in size.
According to a sixth aspect, in the fifth aspect,
the over-size decision unit notifies the resizing unit of the detected two longitudinal sizes and the two lateral sizes, and
the resizing unit calculates an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the lateral direction on the basis of the two lateral sizes notified by the over-size decision unit and calculates an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the longitudinal direction on the basis of the two longitudinal sizes and changes the size of the image obtained by the obtaining unit by enlarging /shrinking the image in the lateral direction and in the longitudinal direction at a smaller one of the two enlarging/shrinking ratios.
In accordance with the sixth aspect above, an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the lateral direction is obtained from the lateral size of the image and the lateral size of the display area of the screen, and an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the longitudinal direction is obtained from the longitudinal size of the image and the longitudinal size of the display area of the screen, and the size of the image is changed by enlarging/shrinking the image at a smaller one of the two enlarging/shrinking ratios in the longitudinal and lateral directions. In this case, since the image is enlarged/shrunk at the same ratio in the longitudinal and lateral directions, the image is not compressed in shape after resized.
According to a seventh aspect, in the fifth aspect,
the over-size decision unit notifies the resizing unit of the detected two longitudinal sizes and the two lateral sizes, and
the resizing unit calculates an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the lateral direction on the basis of the two lateral sizes notified by the over-size decision unit and calculates an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the longitudinal direction on the basis of the two longitudinal sizes, and changes the size of the image obtained by the obtaining unit by enlarging/shrinking the image in the lateral direction and in the longitudinal direction at the respective enlarging/shrinking ratios.
In accordance with the seventh aspect, an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the lateral direction is obtained from the lateral size of the image and the lateral size of the display area of the screen, and an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the longitudinal direction is obtained from the longitudinal size of the image and the longitudinal size of the display area of the screen, and the size of the image is changed by enlarging/shrinking the image in the longitudinal direction and in the lateral direction at the respective enlarging/shrinking ratios. In this case, since the image is enlarged/shrunk in the longitudinal and lateral directions at separate ratios, the size of the resized image coincides with the size of the display area of the screen both in the longitudinal and lateral directions.
According to an eighth aspect, in the fifth aspect,
the information terminal device further comprises a form setting unit operable to set any of a first resizing form for changing the size by enlarging/shrinking the image in the lateral direction and the longitudinal direction at the same enlarging/shrinking ratio, a second resizing form for changing the size by removing part of the image, and a third resizing form for changing the size by enlarging/shrinking the image in the lateral direction and the longitudinal direction at separate enlarging/shrinking ratios, and
the resizing unit changes the size of the image obtained by the obtaining unit by using the form set by the form setting unit.
In accordance with the eighth aspect above, the first to third resizing forms having their respective advantages can be selected to realize resizing suited to the features of the image or resizing suited to the preference of a user.
According to a ninth aspect, in the first aspect, the resizing unit changes the size by removing part of the image obtained by the obtaining unit.
In accordance with the ninth aspect above, part of an image is removed to change its size. In this case, the resolution of the image is kept unchanged after the size is changed.
A tenth aspect is directed to an information terminal device which obtains and stores images from a server and displays any of the plurality of stored images, the information terminal device comprising:
an obtaining unit for obtaining from the server the images and a document which contains image information associated with the images and allowing a user to identify the images;
an image accumulative storage unit operable to accumulatively store the images obtained by the obtaining unit;
an image information extracting unit operable to extract the image information from the document obtained by the obtaining unit;
a list generating unit operable to generate a list composed of a plurality of pieces of the image information extracted by the image information extracting unit;
a list display unit operable to display the list generated by the list generating unit;
a selecting unit operable to select a piece of the image information specified by a user from among the plurality of pieces of image information contained in the list displayed by the list display unit in accordance with an instruction from the user; and
an image display unit operable to obtain the image associated with the image information selected by the selecting unit from the image accumulative storage unit and displaying the image.
In accordance with the tenth aspect above, it is possible to obtain images from a server, store the images, select an image the user desires from among the plurality of images stored, and display the image.
According to an eleventh aspect, in the tenth aspect, when the image associated with the image information selected by the selecting unit is absent in the image accumulative storage unit, the image display unit requests the obtaining unit to obtain the image from the server.
In accordance with the eleventh aspect above, when the image associated with the selected image information is not accumulatively stored, that image is obtained from a server.
According to a twelfth aspect, in the tenth aspect,
the server is a WWW server connected to the Internet,
the image information is the storage location of the image, and
the document which contains the image information is an HTML document.
In accordance with the twelfth aspect, while the information terminal device obtains an HTML document and images from a WWW server through the Internet and accumulatively stores the images, it also extracts the storage locations (e.g. xe2x80x9cmoon. gifxe2x80x9d) of the images from the HTML document. Since the storage location of an image is associated with the image and usually contains the name of the image, the user can easily know what kind of image it is.
A thirteenth aspect is directed to an image resize and display method performed by an information terminal device to obtain an image from a server and display the image in a display area of a screen, the image resize and display method comprising:
an obtaining step of obtaining the image from the server;
an over-size decision step of deciding whether the entirety of the image obtained in the obtaining step can be displayed within the display area of the screen; and
a resizing step of, when the over-size decision step makes a negative decision, changing the size of the image obtained in the obtaining step so that the image can be displayed within the display area of the screen.
According to a fourteenth aspect, in the thirteenth aspect, the over-size decision step detects the size of the image obtained in the obtaining step and compares that size with the size of the display area of the screen to decide whether the entirety of the image can be displayed within the display area of the screen.
According to a fifteenth aspect, in the thirteenth aspect,
the display area of the screen is variable in size, and
the over-size decision step detects the size of the image obtained in the obtaining step and the size of the display area of the screen and compares the two sizes with each other to decide whether the entirety of the image can be displayed within the display area of the screen.
According to a sixteenth aspect, in the fifteenth aspect, the resizing step calculates an enlarging/shrinking ratio on the basis of the two sizes detected in the over-size decision step and changes the size of the image obtained in the obtaining step by enlarging/shrinking the image at the enlarging/shrinking ratio.
According to a seventeenth aspect, in the thirteenth aspect,
the display area of the screen is variable in size, and
the over-size decision step detects the lateral size and the longitudinal size of the image obtained in the obtaining step and the lateral size and the longitudinal size of the display area of the screen and compares the two lateral sizes with each other and the two longitudinal sizes with each other to decide whether the entirety of the image can be displayed within the display area of the screen individually in the lateral direction and in the longitudinal direction.
According to an eighteenth aspect, in the seventeenth aspect, the resizing step calculates an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the lateral direction on the basis of the two lateral sizes detected in the over-size decision step and calculates an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the longitudinal direction on the basis of the two longitudinal sizes, and changes the size of the image obtained in the obtaining step by enlarging/shrinking the image in the lateral direction and in the longitudinal direction at a smaller one of the two enlarging/shrinking ratios.
According to a nineteenth aspect, in the seventeenth aspect, the resizing step calculates an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the lateral direction on the basis of the two lateral sizes detected in the over-size decision step and calculates an enlarging/shrinking ratio in the longitudinal direction on the basis of the two longitudinal sizes, and changes the size of the image obtained in the obtaining step by enlarging/shrinking the image in the lateral direction and in the longitudinal direction at the respective enlarging/shrinking ratios.
According to a twentieth aspect, in the seventeenth aspect,
the image resize and display method further comprises a form setting step of setting any of a first resizing form for changing the size by enlarging/shrinking the image in the lateral direction and the longitudinal direction at the same enlarging/shrinking ratio, a second resizing form for changing the size by removing part of the image, and a third resizing form for changing the size by enlarging/shrinking the image in the lateral direction and the longitudinal direction at separate enlarging/shrinking ratios, and
the resizing step changes the size of the image obtained in the obtaining step by using the form set in the form setting step.
According to a twenty-first aspect, in the thirteenth aspect, the resizing step changes the size by removing part of the image obtained in the obtaining step.
A twenty-second aspect is directed to an image select and display method performed by an information terminal device to obtain images from a server, store the images, and select and display any of the plurality of stored images, the image select and display method comprising:
an obtaining step of obtaining from the server the images and a document which contains image information associated with the images and allowing a user to identify the image;
an image accumulative storage step of accumulatively storing the images obtained in the obtaining step;
an image information extracting step of extracting the image information from the document obtained in the obtaining step;
a list generating step of generating a list composed of a plurality of pieces of the image information extracted in the image information extracting step;
a list display step of displaying the list generated in the list generating step;
a selecting step of selecting a piece of the image information specified by a user from among the plurality of pieces of image information contained in the list displayed in the list display step in accordance with an instruction from the user; and
an image display step of displaying the image associated with the image information selected in the selecting step among the images accumulatively stored in the image accumulative storage step.
According to a twenty-third aspect, in the twenty-second aspect, when the image associated with the image information selected in the selecting step is absent among the images accumulatively stored in the image accumulative storage step, the image display step obtains the image from the server and displays the image.
According to a twenty-fourth aspect, in the twenty-second aspect,
the server is a WWW server connected to the Internet,
the image information is the storage location of the image, and
the document which contains the image information is an HTML document.
A twenty-fifth aspect is directed to a storage medium which contains a program for causing an information terminal device to perform an image resize and display method for obtaining an image from a server and displaying the image in a display area of a screen, the image resize and display method comprising:
an obtaining step of obtaining the image from the server;
an over-size decision step of deciding whether the entirety of the image obtained in the obtaining step can be displayed within the display area of the screen; and
a resizing step of, when the over-size decision step makes a negative decision, changing the size of the image obtained in the obtaining step so that the image can be displayed within the display area of the screen.
A twenty-sixth aspect is directed to a storage medium which stores a program for causing an information terminal device to perform an image select and display method for obtaining images from a server, storing the images, and selecting and displaying any of the plurality of stored images, the image select and display method comprising:
an obtaining step of obtaining from the server the images and a document which contains image information associated with the images and allowing a user to identify the images;
an image accumulative storage step of accumulatively storing the images obtained in the obtaining step;
an image information extracting step of extracting the image information from the document obtained in the obtaining step;
a list generating step of generating a list composed of a plurality of pieces of the image information extracted in the image information extracting step;
a list display step of displaying the list generated in the list generating step;
a selecting step of selecting a piece of the image information specified by a user from among the plurality of pieces of image information contained in the list displayed in the list display step in accordance with an instruction from the user; and
an image display step of displaying the image associated with the image information selected in the selecting step among the images accumulatively stored in the image accumulative storage step.